I’m in Las Vegas for a week. A four-day weekend for a wedding turned into more in an effort to get more bang for that airline ticket price.
Getting here/there
Day 1 was a travel day. I went to work and ended up staying an hour longer than planned and two hours longer than I should have. I had two quick stops before getting home, then I had to finish packing and of course I had hoped to clean up my apartment so I could have a welcoming space to return to. Packing, unpacking and repacking took longer than expected. My dash around my apartment picking up and taking out trash didn’t result in cleanliness as much as relief that I discovered the bad smell developing in the kitchen.
The bus to the subway felt excruciatingly long for getting across five avenues. Four wrong trains came before I hopped on the fifth with a plan to connect to the correct one downtown. By the time the correct train got me to the airport, my plane was taking off, so I decided to take some pictures for the Photo Challenge, Week 20 (Landscape – Minimalist). Then I took the AirTran to the terminal. I was magnificently calm throughout my commute, even when I realized there was no way I was going to make my flight.
Initially there was sadness when I reflected that my missed plane was an inconvenience only to myself – no one waiting for my arrival. Then I realized that simply freed me of a sense of obligation and the anxiety that came with it. From that moment on, I decided to take my time. I would get to where I was going when I got there.
I was able to fly standby on the 9:30pm New York to Las Vegas flight, which got me to Vegas around 1:40am and in my hotel room around 2:30am. 5:30am New York time. I was exhausted – I hadn’t been able to sleep on the plane so I had been up and moving for nearly twenty-four hours.
You may be asking, “Where was the blessing in Day 1?”
During a stressful day (and period – did I mention my employment is up in the air?) and throughout a potentially stressful activity (commuting on public transit with luggage in NYC) I not only decided, but I was able to slow down to the present moment and look for opportunities to enjoy the setback. I ate the food I had picked up on my way home. Returned a phone call. I went to voice mail, but at least I returned the call. Then I walked around trying to take pictures of the scenery that would qualify as minimalist landscape. When I removed the anxiety, it wasn’t a bad delay.
It turned out that the best part of the trip was the wait.
JFK Airport, Terminal 4, Gate 26
Maximizing my free day
Day 2 began with only four hours of sleep… UGH! Body clocks!… and the reminder that I could take my time. That worked well until I ran out of time! My first day of vacation was surprisingly busy prepping for a photo shoot. {New promo photos coming soon!} I was forty minutes late for my sunset shoot in Red Rock Canyon and became extremely anxious as I was losing sunlight, money and time… and perhaps the respect of a photographer I hadn’t yet met! Oh, no! But again, no worries – the Fabulous Ms. Deidre Wilson (www.deidrawilson.com) was extremely gracious and accommodating. From what I previewed, she caught some great images.
The best part of the day was meeting someone who heard what I wanted and made it her business to deliver even more. I love that she made me laugh with the intent of capturing my laughter and joy on camera. We’ll see if it translates well….
May you be calm even when life is coming at you fast and may you learn to communicate with laughter and joy even through uncertainty.
